There Was a Crooked Man... (1970)

Note des utilisateurs:

7.1/10   

Réalisateur:

Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Writers:

David Newman (written by) &
Robert Benton (written by)

Release Date:

25 décembre 1970 (USA)

Genre:

Comedie | Western

Accroche:

Once upon a time, there was a crooked man. When he was good, he was very, very good. And when he was bad, it was murder...

Plot:

Charm, intelligence and success in criminal career doesn't prevent Paris Pitman Jr. to start doing ten years in prison...

Plot Keywords:

Prison | Arizona | Loot | Escape | Harassment

Avis des utilisateurs:

Uneven western that is difficult to recommend

Ensemble

Kirk Douglas	...	Paris Pitman, Jr.
Henry Fonda	...	Woodward W. Lopeman
Hume Cronyn	...	Dudley Whinner
Warren Oates	...	Floyd Moon
Burgess Meredith	...	The Missouri Kid
John Randolph	...	Cyrus McNutt
Lee Grant	...	Mrs. Bullard
Arthur O'Connell	...	Mr. Lomax
Martin Gabel	...	Warden LeGoff
Michael Blodgett	...	Coy Cavendish
C.K. Yang	...	Ah-Ping
Alan Hale Jr.	...	Tobaccy (as Alan Hale)
Victor French	...	Whiskey
Claudia McNeil	...	Madam
Bert Freed	...	Skinner
Jeanne Cooper	...	Prostitute
Barbara Rhoades	...	Miss Jessie Brundidge
Gene Evans	...	Col Wolff
Pamela Hensley	...	Edwina
J. Edward McKinley	...	The Governor
Karl Lukas
Larry D. Mann
Ann Doran	...	Mrs. Lomax
Paul Prokop
Bart Burns
reste de la distribution par ordre alphabétique:
Byron Foulger	...	(uncredited)
Paul Newlan	...	(uncredited)
Vince St. Cyr	...	Apache prisoner (uncredited)

Réalisé par
Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Scénaristes
David Newman		(written by) &
Robert Benton		(written by)

Produit par
C.O. Erickson	....	executive producer
Joseph L. Mankiewicz	....	producer

Musique originale
Charles Strouse

Image
Harry Stradling Jr.		(director of photography)

Montage
Gene Milford

Création des décors
Edward Carrere

Décorateur de plateau
F. Keogh Gleason		(as Keogh Gleason)

Création des costumes
Anna Hill Johnstone

Maquillage
Gordon Bau	....	makeup supervisor
Annabell Levy	....	hair stylist
Jean Burt Reilly	....	supervising hair stylist
Perc Westmore	....	makeup artist

Directeur de production
Peter V. Herald	....	production supervisor

Assistant réalisateur
Don Kranze	....	assistant director

Technicien du son
Al Overton Jr.	....	sound

Cascadeur
Budd Albright	....	stunts (uncredited)
Denny Arnold	....	stunts (uncredited)
Bruce Paul Barbour	....	stunt performer (uncredited)
Buff Brady	....	stunts (uncredited)
Tony Brubaker	....	stunts (uncredited)
Steven Burnett	....	stunts (uncredited)
David Cadiente	....	stunts (uncredited)
Fred Carson	....	stunts (uncredited)
Jimmy Casino	....	stunts (uncredited)
Bill Clark	....	stunts (uncredited)
Chuck Courtney	....	stunts (uncredited)
Roger Creed	....	stunt coordinator (uncredited)
Gino DeAgustino	....	stunts (uncredited)
Stephanie Epper	....	stunts (uncredited)
Bill Hart	....	stunts (uncredited)
Bob Herron	....	stunts (uncredited)
Chuck Hicks	....	stunts (uncredited)
Clyde Howdy	....	stunts (uncredited)
Henry Kingi	....	stunts (uncredited)
Monty Laird	....	stunts (uncredited)
Gene LeBell	....	stunts (uncredited)
Paul Nuckles	....	stunts (uncredited)
George Orrison	....	stunts (uncredited)
Jack Perkins	....	stunts (uncredited)
Carl Saxe	....	stunts (uncredited)
John Sistrunk	....	stunts (uncredited)
Ron Stein	....	stunts (uncredited)
Chuck Waters	....	stunts (uncredited)
Jesse Wayne	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Bernie Abramson	....	still photographer (uncredited)

Music Department
Sonny Burke	....	music supervisor
Dan Wallin	....	scoring mixer (uncredited)

Divers
Wayne Fitzgerald	....	title designer: main title
Sidney Ganis	....	assistant to producer

Production Companies

• Warner Bros. Pictures

Distributors

• Warner Bros. Pictures (1970) (USA) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. Pictures (1994) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1974) (USA) (TV) (original airing)

Other Companies

• Tyler Camera Supplies  aerial photography

Autre(s) titre(s):

Le reptile (France) [fr]

Durée:

126 min

Pays:

USA

Langue:

Anglais

Couleur:

Couleur (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Son:

Mono

Classification:

Singapore:NC-16 | UK:15 (video) | UK:AA (original rating) | Portugal:17 (cut version) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:R

Emplacements De Pelliculage:

Joshua Tree, California, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Anecdotes:

Twelve rattlesnakes were used for a key scene but failed to hiss on cue. The hissing had to be dubbed in during post-production.

Goofs:

Continuity: After escaping from prison, Pitman visits the widow Bullard and leaves the prison mule in her corral and takes a horse. After being bitten by the snake and dying, the warden takes his body back on the horse he rode, which now is a mule again.

Guillemet:

Cyrus McNutt: They're killing me by inches, Dudley!
Dudley Whinner: You'll outlive us all. You got a lot of inches.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Continental Divide (1981)

Soundtrack:

There Was A Crooked Man...

Uneven western that is difficult to recommend

My commentary refers to minor elements of the plot of the film in question, revealing, to an inconsequential extent, some of the events of the movie. Some may interpret this as a SPOILER, but I am very careful not to expose anything specific crucial.

Similar to "Paint Your Wagon" (1969) in it's use of a comedic western as a vehicle for social commentary, "There Was a Crooked Man" has a comic tone at times, but has difficulty being consistently one kind of movie: Is it a satire? Is it a comedy? Is it a bawdy western with a serious disguise? Is it a social commentary about the penal system? Is it an arc for Fonda's upright and uptight sheriff to find disillusionment?

Kirk Douglas portrays a robber who will sacrifice anyone and anything to get the loot and come out on top, while Henry Fonda is a town sheriff who seems the exact opposite of Douglas, and who specializes in moral correctness. While attempting to practice what he preaches, kindness before cruelty, Fonda is shot apprehending a drunken Warren Oates. The town quickly and easily gives up hope in Fonda's ability to do his job, leading Fonda to volunteer as warden for the prison where both Douglas and Oates are incarcerated.

Fonda begins a crusade to uplift the inmates of this desolate Arizona penal colony by abolishing obligatory hard labor and restricting cruel punishments upon the men. It seems the only way to earn Fonda's enmity as warden is to draw lascivious pictures of scantily clad women, as all other crimes are forgivable and reformable in Fonda' eyes.

While Fonda is trying to teach the prisoners self-respect, Douglas is luring them into his aid with promises of sharing the money he stole in the crime for which he was convicted and sentenced to the prison. Those he can't persuade he tricks into helping him by various plots and devices, all the while Fonda thinks Douglas should become the prisoners' leader and help give them hope by improving their living conditions. Burgess Meredith frequently steals the spotlight as a former flashy train robber that has been transformed by years in prison into a tired, gritty, petty old man who does nothing for free.

The problem with this movie is not the excellent acting, but the tone and the Mickey Mouse musical score. It deals with murder and betrayal carelessly, it refers to revenge and cruelty with humor, and it moves back and forth from serious to light-hearted scenes so quickly and easily that it becomes difficult to maintain any clear perspective. In the middle of a murderous rampage an (apparently) hilarious food fight ensues while a buxom visitor to the prison is gradually, but incompletely, disrobed.

Unlike other satires released that year such as "Catch-22" (1970) or "M.A.S.H." (1970), "There Was a Crooked Man" doesn't succeed in delivering a message, but only appears to chronicle an improbable series of events that have no meaning outside of itself, all the while the most irritating and thematically contrary music imaginable scores nearly every scene.

Despite good acting and some laughs, it's a tough film to recommend. If there was a DVD version that allowed you to keep the dialog and eradicate the music, this would be a totally different, and much improved, movie.